Batman: Bad Blood (LaurenHardy13's Version)
by LaurenHardy13
Summary: (Sequel to Batman vs. Robin {my version}) Dick Grayson has officially become a Wayne but struggles to prove that he has earned that title. Meanwhile, Talia returns to try to convince Bruce and Damian to join the League of Shadows again. After Bruce refuses, Talia kidnaps Dick and brainwashes him to feel nothing but trauma to get him out of Bruce's life forever. Will she succeed?
1. Chapter 1

**And now it is time to conclude LaurenHardy13's Son of Batman series. Remember that** **Dick is Nightwing at nine years old** **and** **Damian is Robin at thirteen.** **Also like before, I'm writing my own version so this won't be 100% like the movie. Thank you to all who are still with me.**

Richard Grayson-Wayne was currently in the cave as Nightwing trying not to get killed. A giant robot made by Lucius Fox designed to punch, kick, and everything else criminals in Gotham City might do while in the field was trying to knock him off his feet. His main objective was to turn off four small buttons at the center of his chest in order to make the robot shut down. Nightwing jumped up in the air avoiding the robot arm hitting him and as soon as he was back on the ground squatted down to avoid a kick. Afterwards, the robot left an opening making Nightwing throw two baterangs towards its chest with one hitting its target and the other missing. He let out a small grunt and continued to use his acrobatics. While doing a back flip, the robot kicked the boy away from him making Dick hit the ground hard.

"Observe your opponent's every move Dick. You have to be one step ahead of them," Batman told him who was currently at the Bat-computer working on a case. Dick got back up and tossed another baterang but once again missed. The boy let out a louder grunt then previous and quickly jumped to the side while the robot now shot out a few lasers from its arm. Nightwing did a few backflips avoiding the lasers until one hit his right arm causing a small burning sensation.

"Ouch!" He shouted falling to the ground holding his arm. The robot came over to the fallen bird and kicked him sending Nightwing across the room. He fell on his back hard causing him to groan in pain. Just as the robot started walking back towards him, three baterangs hit the switches causing the robot to completely shut down. Dick looked up and saw Bruce standing up from the computer walking towards him.

"What was that?" He asked in his sturn Batman voice.

"Me getting attacked by a giant robot," Nightwing answered as he got up massaging his upper back.

"You're distracted," he said.

"No I'm not," Nightwing said and Bruce's eyes got narrow. "Alright you got me; I guess I ama little."

"What's going on?" he asked.

"It's nothing; just something stupid."

"It's _something_ if you can't concentrate. If you want to be my partner then you have to put any and all distractions behind you. Enemies will see that and use it to their advantage. It's dangerous if you aren't focused and I won't always be able to get to you right away," Bruce explained.

"I know, I know. I can't be a screw-up on the field," Dick said and then let out another sigh as his shoulders sagged down. "I'll never be on your level," he said looking to the ground. Bruce walked closer to Dick and got at eye level with him before lifting his chin to look up at him.

"Stick with _that_ attitude and I'll never let you out. I don't expect you to be on my level right away. It took me years of training and discipline to get to where I am and you've only been training for almost a year and a half. As your mentor and adopted father I'm going to help you improve your skills but you need to focus on the task at hand without any distractions. Until you learn to do that, you're grounded from training," Bruce said.

"How disappointing," a voice came from the shadows from behind Dick. Bruce shot up and quickly pulled his cowl back on as well as getting out a baterang from his belt before going to stand protectively in front of his son who had since turned around where the voice came from. That's when Talia Al Ghul slowly walked out from the shadows smiling. Her dark hair had grown slightly longer then it was two years ago and was wearing her normal black revealing jumpsuit with holsters on her hips.

"I expected better from a boy who now calls himself a Wayne, but it's no surprise at what a miserable failure you are," she said as she walked closer towards the two. Bruce gazed a quick look at his son to see his shoulders had risin' to his ears, his cheeks were turning a slightly red color, and was currently rubbing his right hand up and down his left arm looking back down at his boots.

"Go upstairs Dick, now!" he ordered. Dick gave a final glance at Bruce before walking over to the tube that changed him back into his regular clothes. Once he was out, he walked up the stars that took him to the elevator without saying a word.

"I don't appreciate you talking to my son like that," Bruce said glaring at her.

"Only by a simple piece of paper. You didn't create him like _we_ did with Damian Beloved," Talia answered.

"You think I care about that? What exactly are you doing here Talia?"

"Only to check up on _our_ son; the son that you sent away!" Talia shouted.

"I never sent him away. It was _his_ choice to leave," he said.

"You should have stopped him!"

"He needs to find his own path Talia. Not one you or I force upon him," Bruce explained crossing his arms together.

"He doesn't need to discover a path. His destiny is with the League of Assassins! It is his duty as heir of The Demon," Talia said.

"Not if _I_ have anything to say about it," he said.

"Oh Beloved. Why do you still despise us? We both desire the same goal; to rid the world of those who corrupt it," She said in a soft tone slowly walking over to him and put her arms around him. "Just think of it, a new beautiful world without anyone to alter it ever again. We'll finally be together for all eternity with Damian right by our side," she explained and leaned in for a kiss but Bruce grabbed Talia's wrists pushing her away.

"And just what, out of curiosity, will happen to my _other_ son?"

"You won't need him Bruce. You already have the perfect son and heir. But if you still absolutely desire, he still could be quite useful. Perhaps we can train him to be an assassin," Talia said getting out of Bruce's grip.

"My answer still hasn't changed since your father asked me the last time. I'll never join you. Now get out of my house!" Bruce demanded.

"But Beloved…"

"I SAID OUT!" Bruce shouted and walked away back towards the Bat-computer.

"This isn't over Beloved; not by a long shot," she warned and once again disappeared into the shadows.

 **Break*Break*Break**

Meanwhile, Dick was lying down on his personal window sill in the darkened room looking out of his window sniffling and wiping his now wet cheeks. The sun had long since set but he could still see the crisp, cold wind blowing around the colored leaves that had recently fallen all across the yard in addition to getting stuck in the now drained fountain sitting in the middle of the driveway.

Suddenly Dick's IPad started to vibrate. He gasped and ran over to turn the light switch on and rushed over to his vanity. He grabbed a recently worn long sleeved shirt that was discarded on the floor and wiped his face with the sleeve. The IPad stopped ringing and left a ' _missed call'_ icon on his screen but thirty seconds later was vibrating again. Dick did a final check of his face and quickly ran over to his desk across the room before heading back to the window seat.

 _Call from Damian_

Dick pressed the green answer button and Damian's face appeared with a small screen of Dick located in the upper right hand corner.

"Hi Dami!" Dick said cheerfully.

"You're late," Damian commented.

"Sorry, I was training in the cave," Dick lied.

"That's not an excuse. You're expected to be here on time right when I call you," Damian scowled.

"I know I know. So how's it going?" he asked changing the subject.

"Nothing of your concern. What happened this week?" he asked.

"Well I got an A+ on my Algebra test," Dick said.

"Oh, what a surprise know-it-all. What else?" Damian said rolling his eyes.

"Nothing that _you'll_ find interesting," Dick said.

"Alright so what's _really_ bothering you?" Damian asked.

"What do you mean? I'm alright," he insisted.

" _Grayson,"_ Damian warned raising his eyebrows.

"I really don't wanna to talk about it okay?"

"Ha! So there _is_ something going on with you!" Dick went to respond but tilted his head back and grunted.

"Darn it!"

"Busted! So spill," he ordered and Dick let out a long sigh.

"Fine, but you can't tell Bruce."

"Word of honor," Damian said and Dick bit his lip before taking in a deep breath.

"It's…it's about the adoption," Dick said.

"You're having second thoughts? It's a little late for that Grayson," Damian said.

"No it's not that. It's just….what's it like to be Bruce's _real_ son?"

"His real son? What the hell are you talking about? Father legally adopted you and you even got your name changed to Grayson- _Wayne_. As much as I despise the thought, you're an official Wayne now," Damian said.

"That's the problem though. Now that I have his family's name, I have to show Bruce that I'm worthy enough to be considered his son."

"Whoa slow down kid. You're the pure and perfect little Dick Grayson. I guess it's pure and perfect Dick Grayson-Wayne now but still. Nothing you ever do will change the way he treats you. Trust me, I already tried to change his mind about you teacher's pet. Why would he ask you to take his name if you weren't already worthy?" Damian said.

"I…I don't know but it's not enough. Bruce is always down in the cave working or patrolling the city so Batman must mean more to him than I thought. If I'm a son of Batman now, then I have to be perfect crime fighter. It's the only way but I keep making so many mistakes in front of him. He even grounded me from practice because of how much I mess up. Some son I am," Dick said.

"If there's one thing I know, it's that being honorable in another's eyes takes time and discipline. But the most important thing is to do whatever it takes to accomplish the mission. If I find out that you failed a mission because it was 'too hard,' I might just have to kill you literally," Damian threatened and Dick chuckled.

"Good luck with that," the young boy answered and started to yawn. "I think I'm gonna go to bed."

"Very well, oh and Grayson?"

"Hmm?"

"Blood doesn't matter in this family. So enough with the 'I'm not his real son' crap already," Damian said and hung up.

"Thanks Dami," Dick whispered looking out his window and gently allowed his eyes to shut.

 **Batman: Bad Blood (LaurenHardy13's version)**

 **Well? Thoughts so far? I Who's ready for more Bad Blood? Anyone? Anyway let me know how you like it and see you next time.**

 **LaurenHardy13**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Batman or any of the character**

The dismissal bell from Gotham Jr. Academy rang the next afternoon with hundreds of students flooding the hallways heading towards their lockers.

"Hey circus freak!" Tyler Palms called out to the nine year old sixth grader. Dick tilted his head up and groaned as well as squeezing his eyes shut for a second before opening them up again looking at Tyler and three of his posse. "Congrats on becoming a 'real' Wayne now even if it's just another Bruce Wayne publicity stunt. Does your butler still come and kiss you goodnight?" he asked and his three friends started to giggle.

"Go away Tyler," Dick said turning around and walking away but Tyler and his friends blocked his way.

"Come on carnie, we just wanna have some fun. I'll bet it's a big deal now that you're a future billionaire and all; especially with how poor and trashy your parents were before they died," one of Tyler's friends said.

"Don't talk about my parents like that!" Dick shouted.

" _Don't talk about my parents that way"_ the boys mimicked in a whiny voice.

"But its true isn't it? Thanks to you, they had to steal money and food just to make sure their precious little boy could eat. Now look at you! Heir of a massive company and you call someone else your dad who gives you everything your parents couldn't even afford to look at. I bet John would be so disappointed in you if he were still alive," Tyler said.

"Shut up!" Dick roared at them but Tyler shoved him against the lockers pinning him there surrounded by his buddies.

"You better watch your mouth kid!" Tyler said slamming Dick's head against the locker making him grunt in pain. "Daddy Brucie isn't here right now to save you and we think it's time we up our game a little because of the 'special occasion,'" he continued as his friends started cracking their knuckles in clenched fists.

"Excuse me! What is going on here?" Mr. R, an eighth grade science teacher asked coming over with his hands on his hips. The four bullies turned around and grew pale when they saw who it was.

"N-nothing Mr. R, just helping Dickie here with his locker," Tyler said as immediately released him from his grip while his friends _'stealthily'_ flattened out the crinkled area of Dick's blazer giving off fake smile.

"Right, now I suggest you and your friends hurry along before you miss your bus Mr. Palms," Mr. R said raising an eyebrow.

"Whatever you say Mr. R; see ya later Dickie," Tyler said waving bye still showing off the phony smile with fire in his eyes aimed right at Dick.

"You better run along too Mr. Wayne. Your butler will be here shortly," Mr. R said when the boys left and Dick's body twitched in response.

"Yes sir," Dick mumbled biting his lip and started walking down the hall to where towards the front of the school starting at nothing but the floor in front of him.

"You okay?" someone asked him. Dick looked over and saw the eleven year old Barbara Gordon walking next to him.

"I'm fine Barbara," Dick said with his eyes not moving from the floor.

"You don't seem okay," she said back. "Don't let Tyler mess with you. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"I know," Dick said as the two walked out the door towards the front gate. As soon as they got to the gate, a red Lamborghini pulled up right in front of them. Dick flashed a quick smile before turning back to Barbara. "See you tomorrow," Dick said and ran to get into the car.

"Ready to go?" Bruce asked his son.

"Yeah," Dick said getting his seatbelt on. "I didn't know you were picking me up."

"Alfred has some things to do around the manor so I'd thought I'd pick you up and take you to work. If you're good then _'maybe'_ we can snag an ice cream before dinner," Bruce said and Dick's eyes went wide flashing a wide grin while frantically nodding his head. "Just don't tell Alfred," he whispered and Dick 'zipped' his mouth closed.

 **Break*Break*Break**

Bruce and Dick arrived at Wayne Enterprises and made their way to the top floor where Bruce's office was located.

"Welcome back Mr. Wayne," Bruce's secretary said greeting her boss. "And how are _you_ today Mr. Grayson- _'Wayne'_?" she asked looking at Dick causing Bruce to chuckle while patting Dick's head. Dick on the other hand pressed his lips together putting his hands behind his back and went back to staring at his shoes.

"Any messages Sarah?" Bruce asked.

"Just Mr. Quake who's on line one right now," his secretary said.

"Ah yes, tell him I'll be with him in a moment. Let's go Dick," Bruce said nudging Dick forward who snapped out of his train of thought and walked into the large office with his new father. Bruce's extra large desk was all the way in the back with his computer and various amounts of paperwork scattered all across towering up as tall as skyscrapers. Towards the left were his bar table for 'guests' and personal balcony and five adjacent windows behind his desk and office chair showing downtown Gotham. "Why don't you get settled in and start on your homework. There are a few pencils on my desk you can use," Bruce said.

"Okay," Dick said setting his bag down on the sofa near the door getting out his homework folder while Bruce went to his desk and picked up the phone.

"Yes hello Mr. Quake! How are you today…?" Bruce asked. Once Dick had his Geometry homework out, he made his way quietly to Bruce's desk. Bruce handed him a pencil as promise and that was when Dick noticed that right next to Bruce's favorite photo of his parents, was the picture of him, Bruce, and Alfred, where he was holding up his adoption certificate outside the courthouse. The photo of Bruce's parents had always been there ever since Bruce first took ownership of his father's company or so he said. Nothing was ever allowed to hide it let alone right next to it nearly touching it. Why did _this_ picture get the same honor? Dick cautiously gazed at the two signatures on the very bottom of the paper he held which included Bruce's, and his own using his new last name; Grayson-Wayne. That's when he felt a hand on his shoulder snapping him out of his thoughts.

'You okay?' Bruce mouthed still listening to the phone conversation. Dick nodded and started to make his way back to the couch.

"…yes sir! The Wayne Foundation would be honored to help build a facility to help those who have been impacted by crime …" Bruce continued over the phone. Once Dick had arrived back at the couch, he noticed that his pencil had 'Wayne Enterprises' and its logo written on it. He held the pencil in both his hands while moving his thumb over the word Wayne.

'Richard Grayson…Wayne,' Dick thought and looked back up at Bruce.

"Son of Bruce Wayne," he whispered while a chill slithered its way up his spine. His stomach became nauseous while heart started beating faster and faster the more he continued staring at Bruce.

All of a sudden there was a knock on the door which was quickly opened. Inside walked in Lucius Fox wearing a black suit with a folder in his hand.

"Could you give me a moment please Mr. Quake," Bruce said and put the caller on hold.

"Bruce, Dick," Lucius greeted nodding his head at each. "I have the documents you requested Mr. Wayne about the _prototype_ ," he said walking over putting the files on Bruce's desk.

"Thank you Lucius," Bruce said.

"We also have some drones that are ready for testing if you'd want to give them a personal inspection," he said.

"Anything to get me out of this office for a bit but I have to finish this conference call. Dick, do you want to go check them out for me until I get there?" Bruce asked. Dick took a stealthy deep breath which caused his nausea to go away and looked up at Lucius.

"Alright," he said setting his homework down on the sofa.

"See you in a minute Bruce," Lucius said and then guided Dick to the elevator which took then down to the ninth floor laboratory. "By the way Dick, there's a little surprise waiting for you inside," Lucius said scanning his badge which unlocked the locked door leading into the lobby before the main testing room. He held the door open for Dick who walked in but stopped when he saw someone else in the room. He was a dark skinned muscular twenty-one year old who stood almost as tall as Lucius wearing jeans and a baby blue t-shirt.

"Luke!" Dick shouted and ran at him while Luke Fox opened his arms.

"Hey Dickie, long time no see," Luke said hugging the boy back before setting him back down.

"What are you doing here Luke? Are you working for Bruce now?!" he asked.

"Nah, I _was_ going to grab lunch with my dad but plans _changed,_ " Luke said looking up at his father and giving him a fuming expression.

"I'm sorry Luke; I'll make it up to you I promise. Since you're here though, we're going to test some drones out if you wanted to _join us_ ," Lucius told his son. Luke raised his eyebrows and rolled his eyes before looking down at Dick who was giving a wide smile.

"Please?" Dick begged.

"Alright," Luke said halfhearted.

"Great! Let's get started," Lucius said and walked into the main testing room after scanning his card again. Inside was a long white room with a steel table in the very middle of the room with the drone and various parts scattered across it. The trio walked over to the table and Lucius turned the drone on before grabbing the remote to begin the test. He steered the drone up, down, side-to-side, and even diagonal.

"You wanna drive it for a sec Dick?" Lucius asked. When Dick nodded, he handed the remote off to the boy. "Go easy at first so you can…"

BOOM!

A large explosion was heard and the entire room suddenly started to shake causing group to lose their balance falling to the ground. The ceiling directly above the trio started to crack and Lucius took action.

"Luke! Move!" he ordered. Luke started to roll to the left side of the room while Lucius grabbed Dick and started to roll towards the right side of the room. The cracks all came together and a portion of the drywall came down right where the group had just been standing.

"What was that?!" Luke shouted coughing while sitting up.

"I…I'm not sure. Are you both alright?" Lucius asked.

"Y-yeah I'm fine. Dick?" Luke called out.

"I'm okay," he said. That's when Lucius looked up at the hole in the ceiling, he saw smoke rising from the far end of the above room.

"We need to go, now!" Lucius ordered standing up as he helped Dick back to his feet. Luke jumped over the debris and followed his father out the lab door running into the lobby where everyone froze when they saw some assassins all dressed in black.

"Luke! Start running and don't look back! I'll give you some time to get away," Lucius said.

"But Dad…"

"Don't argue! You have to get Dick out of here right now!" he said as they heard another piece of the ceiling fall to the ground in the lab but this time brought down some of the flames.

"Hurry!" Lucius ordered and Luke nodded. He took Dick's hand and ran for the door only to have some of the assassins run towards them. Luke super kicked one of the assassins and pinned him to the ground before delivering a swift punch to the head. That's when Dick fell on all fours going into a rough coughing fit.

"Come on Dick!" Luke said helping Dick back up as Lucius tried to push the assassins back away from the two. Suddenly an assassin snuck up behind Lucius with a knife and stabbed him in the back.

"Dad!" Luke shouted taking two steps towards his father, but with a heavy heart looked back over to Dick whose breathing was turning into short wheezes and continued to drag Dick towards the exit. Then another assassin threw a smoke palate at the two which let out a smoke causing them to begin seeing stars. Both started coughing as they felt their eyes get heavy and throats felling like they just literately swallowed ash. Luke looked up and saw the assassins scooping up Dick and running away leaving them both for dead.

"Dick," he whispered trying to crawl to where the assassins just were before his entire world grew dark as the flames grew closer and closer to where they now laid.

 **Break*Break*Break**

 **Meanwhile back in Bruce's office:**

"…yes, we'll have lunch together next week to discuss the details. Goodbye Mr. Quake," Bruce said and hung up the phone. Just as he was about to stand up out of his chair, a large 'boom' was heard along with the sound of glass braking somewhere while the office started to shake briefly. Bruce jumped up from his chair and ran out on his balcony and looked down. The tenth floor was currently ablaze with dark smoke beginning to rise in the sky stealing any light that stood in its path.

"LUCIUS…DICK!" he shouted and sprinted out of his office.

"Did you hear that Mr. Wayne?!" his secretary asked and the piercing sound of the fire alarm went off.

"Sarah get out of here!" he shouted over the fire alarm and ran into the emergency staircase going down. Inside he could hear countless of his employees screaming and running down the stairs. Every time he heard someone scream, Bruce increased his speed significantly with his heart skipping a couple beats.

When Bruce arrived at the ninth floor, he went inside from the stairs and used his personal access card to unlock the door. He touched the doorknob but immediately pulled his hand back due to how hot the metal handle was. This time, he took off his jacket and used it to open the door wide but thick, black smoke blew right in his face causing him to cough violently. When he finally got his baring back together, Bruce took a deep breath and using his elbow to cover his mouth and nose. Inside the observation room, the temperature increase three times what it was in the stairway and visibility was so bad Bruce couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. His eyes kept burning and coughed up any portion of smoke that had gotten into his lungs. Slowly he crawled through the room feeling for anything he could find.

"Lu… **(Cough, cough, hack, gasp** )…Dick… **(Gasp…cough cough,)** " Bruce tried to call out but only got a throat that was currently on fire. It was then where he heard a gunshot fire and his right shoulder let off an unbearable pain worse than the fire in his lungs. Bruce fell on his back as he fell even more into darkness.

 **I don't know why this was so hard for me to write. Maybe I'm just excited about what's to come. Anyways thanks to all who are enjoying and I'll see you all next time.**

 **LaurenHardy13**


	3. Chapter 3

Damian walked into his room throwing his scrub brush against the wall so hard that it bounced and on the floor right in front of him. He kicked it away from him and laid down on his bed sighing in frustration. Afterwards, he reached into his backpack pulling out his IPad and started surfing the news from the Gotham Gazette. He skimmed through the articles until one particular caught his eye.

 _Fire at Wayne Enterprises Leaves Billionaire and CEO in Coma_

Damian clicked on it while jolting back into a seated position as a live video of Fire Chief Bogs at a conference.

"… _a fire at Wayne Enterprises occurring earlier this afternoon at precisely 4:32pm. When fire crew including myself arrived, employees informed us that Bruce Wayne, along with his son Richard and fellow CEO of Wayne Enterprises Lucius Fox had yet to be seen safely out of the building. A few of my crew went inside the building and pulled out Lucius Fox, Bruce Wayne, and another victim, Luke Fox who were all unconscious at that time. Regrettably, we did not find Richard Grayson-Wayne with the rest of the group. My fellow firefighters and GCPD's Arson squad are continuing their investigation at this time to try and find out what caused the fire and any clues on the whereabouts of Richard Grayson-Wayne. As for the others, they each were rushed to Gotham General where they are receiving medical treatment at this time."_ Damian's eyebrows rose and then exited out of the article and tried to Facetime Dick.

 _Connection Failed_

"Damn," Damian mumbled and without thinking, tried to call again.

"I swear kid you better pick up or else," he hissed.

 _Connection Failed_

After three more tries and getting no connection, he pulled out his phone and called the manor.

' _beep….beep…'_

" _Hello, you've reached the Wayne residents…"_

"DAMMIT!" Damian grunted slamming his finger on the red 'hang-up' button. Now he pulled up his contacts list and called Alfred's cell. As soon as he put the phone up to his ear the line became busy.

"UGH!" Damien howled throwing the phone across the room as different parts of the phone shattered. Instantly, he changed his clothes to his jeans and long sleeved black shirt before backing his bag with his things before putting on his red ski-jacket and heading out leaving his scrub brush and bucket behind.

 **Break*Break*Break**

 **Three Days Later** **  
Gotham General**

Meanwhile, Alfred stood on the side of the bed staring at his charge, who currently had tubes and wires running in and out of his body.

"They haven't found him yet sir," Alfred said to Bruce. "But I won't give up hope as long as _you_ don't. We both know how strong our boy is." That's when the door opened and Leslie Tompkins and Commissioner Gordon walked in with Gordon holding something behind his back.

"Hello Ms. Tompkins, Commissioner. How are Luke and Lucius doing?" Alfred asked standing up.

"Very lucky. Lucius is currently in surgery for a stab wound and Luke is still being observed," Leslie explained.

"A stab wound? How on earth did he acquire a stab wound?" Alfred asked.

"That's one thing _I'd_ like to personally find out as well, but we can't until he regains full consciousness. Luke's mother and sister are sitting with him right now. Any movement from Bruce?" she asked.

"None. Have they found _anything_ Commissioner?" Alfred asked.

"I'm afraid not Mr. Pennyworth. The only thing we found was his backpack in Mr. Wayne's office," Gordon said handing Alfred the black backpack he hid behind his back. "And I'm sorry to say, but at this point, we may have to consider that Dick may have….possibly burned to death. I'm so sorry," he said. Alfred's face dropped and slowly sat back down into the chair staring at the backpack still in his hands.

"I won't lose faith, but an old man like me can't help but fear the worst," Alfred said.

"I know Alfred. Just try to focus on Bruce for right now. I wish I could promise you more, but I'm afraid I just can't," Leslie said.

"I understand Ms. Tompkins," Alfred said.

"I'm sorry but I have to get back to my other patients. Let me know if something changes," she said.

"You have my word," Alfred said.

"If my boys find _anything,_ you'll be the first to know Mr. Pennyworth," Gordon told him.

"Thank you Commissioner. Goodbye Ms. Tompkins," Alfred said and Leslie along with Gordon left the room with a quick goodbye. Alfred let out a slow sigh and opened up the backpack pulling out Dick's take-home folder. He stared at folder refusing to look away from the name that was written down in black sharpie.

"Oh Master Dick," he whispered before opening up the folder seeing the big fat A+ on a page labeled 'Batman's Cousin: The _American Brown Bat.'_ Dick had spent countless hours the past few weeks on this project on the little 'visitors' that lived in the upper levels of the cave; even leaving out some extra food for them. Alfred then gently put the take-home folder back in the bag and put his right hand over his forehead afterwards. Suddenly, Alfred heard a soft moan. His eyes went wide and gasped looking at Bruce lying on the hospital bed.

"Master Bruce?" he called out. That's when he saw Bruce's head shift a little to the left of his pillow. Alfred jetted up from his chair rushing over to the side of the bed next to his charge. "Master Bruce? Can you hear me sir?"

 **Break*Break*Break**

"… _sir? Bruce, can you hear me?"_ Bruce heard in the distance. He was currently standing in an area that was pitch black. Bruce tried looking around but could see absolutely nothing.

" _Master Bruce!"_ the voice called out again.

'Wait, I know that voice,' he thought. Quickly, he tried to run forward towards the voice but ended up tripping over something landing on something uncomfortable with a pounding headache to go with it. Bruce slowly closed his eyes slipping into even more darkness and let out a soft groan.

" _That's it sir, just take it slow,"_ the voice said again. Slowly but surely, his eyes fluttered open again, but this time, he was able to see clearly in front of him which happened to be his elderly butler standing beside him.

"Oh thank goodness," Alfred sighed.

"Al...?" Bruce said but was interrupted by a series of violent coughs and hacks. Alfred meanwhile put his hand on Bruce's shoulder as he continued his coughing spree. At last when he was finished, he laid back against the pillow exhausted. "Alfred…what happened? He asked.

"Do you not remember anything sir?" Alfred asked.

"Everything's all fuzzy," Bruce mumbled.

"Well…from what I gathered, something caused a fire to break out at Wayne Enterprises," Alfred explained.

"A fire?! Damn! Was anyone hurt? How…h-how did it start?" Bruce asked.

"Slow down Master Bruce. I'm not entirely sure how exactly the fire started," Alfred said.

"And was anybody hurt?" Bruce asked again.

I'm afraid so sir. Mr. Fox was gravely injured as was Luke. But you needn't worry yourself…" Alfred said but Bruce interrupted.

"Wait, Luke was at the office? I didn't know that," he stated.

"You didn't? Odd. The fire crew pulled all of you out together from the building. I assumed you all became trapped together," Alfred said.

"I don't think so. Why is it so hard to remember what exactly happened?" Bruce asked himself.

"Don't overexcite yourself Master Bruce. You inhaled a lot of smoke," Alfred explained.

"How…" Bruce started but froze in place when something caught his eye. Sitting down against the leg of the nearby chair was a familiar black backpack opened slightly.

"Alfred, where's Dick?" Bruce asked looking back up at Alfred. Alfred broke eye contact with Bruce immediately and his face started to grow pale.

"I…I think I'll go alert the doctors that you are awake sir," Alfred said turning around quickly and started walking towards the door.

"Alfred, where's my son?!" Bruce asked louder sitting up and Alfred stopped dead in his tracks with his head dropped down.

"Answer me! That's an order!" Bruce hissed.

"I…I don't know where he is sir," he responded still not making eye contact.

"What do you mean you don't know?! He got out right?!" Bruce yelled and the monitor measuring Bruce's heart rate started to speed up a little. "ALFRED!"

"They…they never…they never found him sir," Alfred said turning back around and as slowly as he could, looked deep into Bruce's navy blue eyes. Suddenly, Bruce shot up out of bed tossing the blanket on the floor trying to get out of the bed.

"No Bruce! You're still recovering," Alfred said trying to push him back down. The fast pace of the heart monitor grew faster and faster as Bruce continued to fight. That's when a couple of doctors raced in.

"Mr. Wayne! You're awake! You need to calm down; everything's alright now," one of the doctors in a while coat said.

"No it's not! Where the hell is my son?!" Bruce asked again still fighting and Leslie ran into the room.

"Bruce! Calm down!" she said.

"Don't you tell me to calm down Leslie! Why the hell didn't anyone get Dick out?!" Bruce shrieked.

"Bruce, the fire crew did everything they could. What they were more concerned about was getting you, Lucius and Luke out of there first. He wasn't in the same room as the rest of you were," Leslie said in a gentle voice.

"He was with Lucius! They should have stopped and looked for him harder!" Bruce shouted continuing to escape Alfred's grasp.

"Bruce Wayne! Don't make me use this!" Leslie threatened holding out a sharp needle.

"You really think I care about getting sedated Leslie?" Bruce asked.

"Oh I know you don't care Bruce. But I really don't want to make you sleep again after you just came out of your coma. And what if Dick got out and is hiding somewhere? A real fire can be a very scary thing for a nine year old. It won't be any better considering everyone is talking about his father being in a coma," Leslie said and Bruce stopped struggling with Alfred. "They never found him, but they also never found his body. He could still be alive, Bruce." Bruce closed his eyes after this and took a large breath before letting it out slowly.

"Fine," Bruce said after opening his eyes.

"Thank you, now I want to check your vitals real fast now that you're awake," she said.

 **Break*Break*Break**

 **A few hours later:**

"Honey, you need to stop blaming yourself. You did everything you could," Tanya Fox told her son who was lying on a hospital bed.

"It wasn't enough! And now Dick is…" Luke snapped but his mother interrupted him.

"I know it's terrible, but right now you _have_ to focus on getting better. You inhaled a lot of smoke from the fire," she continued.

"At least I didn't burn to death," Luke snapped crossing his arms. That's when a knock was heard.

"Come in," Tanya said and the door opened to reveal Bruce Wayne slowly walking in. Luke's eyebrows rose to the top of his forehead.

"Mr. Wayne! I…," Luke said but couldn't say anymore. Bruce held up his hands in surrender.

"It's alright Luke. Tanya, can I talk to him for a moment?" he asked.

"Shouldn't you be resting Bruce?" she asked.

"I'm fine; really." Bruce insisted. Tanya gave a glance at her son and then back towards Bruce.

"Bruce…..please just..."

"I'm not mad at him Tanya; not in the slightest. I just need to hear exactly what happened from his perspective; as long as you're up for it Luke," Bruce said looking over at Luke who slightly nodded.

"Alright, but don't push him too hard. I'll go get some food for you honey," she said and left with Tiffany in tow. As soon as the door closed, the two were left in complete silence minus the heart monitor.

"Luke, I meant what I said. I don't blame you for what happened at all. Just tell me exactly what happened," Bruce said.

"We…we were just testing out the drones when we heard some explosion. The whole room shook and parts of the ceiling broke off. My dad took Dick, and we dove out of the way from the debris that was coming down. We saw the fire and ran out of the lab. That's when…these ninja-looking guys showed up," Luke explained.

"Ninjas?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah. They were all dressed in black and they were fast. Dad tried to fight them off, but…" Luke started.

"It's alright Luke, you don't have to go on," Bruce insisted.

"No it's not alright! Dad told me to run and get Dick out but I froze. If I didn't freeze, then maybe he wouldn't be in surgery fighting for his life, and Dick wouldn't have been taken! Some soldier _I_ am," Luke shouted.

"Taken? Are you saying Dick may have been kidnapped?" Bruce asked.

"I don't remember much, but I remember seeing the ninjas leave carrying Dick out before I blacked out. I don't know if they got out in time," Luke said.

"Interesting. Tell me, do you remember any distinct characteristics about them?"

"Nothing really. They were all just dressed completely in black and had this like mask thing covering face except for their eyes. Wait! I remember seeing one of them had this weird looking design on his belt. It looked like a dog with long, extended ears with an uppercase R in the middle," Luke asked.

"I see. Thank you for telling me Luke. I'm going to call the police so they can rule in a possible kidnapping. I want you to get some rest and not worry about all this. The police will handle looking for Dick," Bruce said putting a hand on Luke's shoulder for a moment.

"But this was all my fault. They stabbed my dad right in front of me Bruce! Then he told me to run which I didn't," Luke said.

"Luke, it's terrible what happened but I already told you that I don't blame you. And you're dad is one of the strongest men I've ever met. He'll pull through and I'll bet that when he knows that you got out too, he won't blame you either," Bruce insisted.

"Thanks Mr. Wayne. If you don't mind, I kinda wanna be alone for a bit," Luke said.

"Of course Luke. I'm going to let the police know about the possible kidnapping," Bruce said standing up. "Make sure you rest up."

"Yeah sure," Luke said crossing his arms. With that, Bruce left the room.

 **I guess we'll stop it right there for now. I know, it's boring but just wait until the next chapter when Damian returns to Gotham. It'll pick up; I promise.**

 **Review**

 **LaurenHardy13**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Don't own Batman if you couldn't already guess.**

"Master Bruce? I brought you some…" Alfred said walking in with a tray of food but was greeted with an empty room with wires lying on the bed and the heart monitor turned off. All the elderly butler could do was sigh as he shook his head.

 **Break*Break*Break**

Meanwhile, Bruce who had called up the bat-mobile to come to the hospital and pick him up arrived at Wayne Enterprises now dressed as Batman. The building entrance had been blocked off with yellow tape with some burned debris just lying on the side, but the faint glow of the Wayne Enterprises logo still shined bright for all of Gotham to see. On his way to the entrance, he stood still as harsh coughs and hacks took over his body for a solid minute. At last, his body finished, and Bruce took a couple of deep breaths. After a good, deep breath, he continued making his way into his company. He went into the emergency staircase and grappled his way up to the ninth floor; walking into the last place anyone had seen his son. When he arrived, he stepped over the yellow caution tape blocking off the doorway and looked at the destroyed room. Some of the drywall had fallen down, and there was some soot from the fire on the ground.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of boots hitting the ground behind him, but continued doing his observation of the crime scene.

"Where the hell is my brother?!" the person asked behind him.

"What are you doing here?" Batman asked still not looking at his 'visitor'.

" _That's_ all you have to say?! My father just got out of a coma and my brother is being presumed dead, yet all you do is just ask me what _I'm_ doing here?! You couldn't have been bothered to let me know what was going on instead of letting me find this out online?!" he continued.

"We've all been a little busy the past few days," Batman said now turning around to face his teenage son dressed in his Robin uniform with clenched fists and a scowl on his face. "You shouldn't have troubled yourself," Batman continued.

"Oh really?! So I was supposed to forget those two years I spent living and training with you and Grayson?! Forget my promise to him?! How dare you tell me I shouldn't have bothered coming back! Just what exactly have _you_ done to try and get my brother back?! Huh?! Or do you even care that he's gone?!" Robin shouted. Batman glared at him hard, but Robin didn't budge.

"What do you think I've been doing since I woke up from a three-day coma?!" Batman hissed through clenched teeth as he stood tall towering himself over Robin. "You better listen good Robin! There isn't an inch in my body that doesn't want to find my son and I will! _You're_ not needed here," he continued before going into another coughing fit for a moment.

"Could have fooled me! You can barely stand on your own two feet without going into a fit! Do you think you can sneak up on someone with all your noise?" Robin asked. Batman stood back up and gave him 'the glare.' "You know, I'm really getting sick of you showing me that expression whenever you look at me. Oh, but whenever it comes to looking at your perfect little Dick Grayson, your eyes are full of nothing but pride!"

"Maybe if you'd follow orders for once, I wouldn't have to," Batman said and pressed a button on his cowl to activate 'detective vision'. Meanwhile, Robin crossed his arms still with a scowl on his face and took a few deep breaths like he had been taught in the Himalayas. Once he felt he was calm enough, he opened his eyes and walked closer towards his father looking around the destroyed room.

"So what's the story so far? Besides Grayson I mean," he asked. Batman forced all the current air out of his lungs before he spoke.

"This was one of the Wayne Tech testing rooms. Where you're standing was an observation deck while the rest of the space here was pretty much an empty room but with a few tables and bulletin boards," Batman explained. Robin looked to the left and noticed the remains of a plaster wall; some of which were charcoaled black, with some broken glass scattered everywhere.

"Lucius took Dick down here to test some drones. The fire started on the floor above us but somehow they became trapped. I heard the explosion from my office and ran to try and get them out. I blacked out and the next thing I know, I'm in the hospital being told by my closest friend that I was out for three days and my son was probably dead; kinda like how _you_ found out," he continued.

"At least you were told by your _'closest friend,'"_ Robin snapped and started walking forward until he was standing right above the giant hole in the ceiling. "If the fire was started up here, I'll see if I can find anything," he said and without waiting for Batman to reply, grabbled up using a beam that was partly visible. Unlike the previous floor, this room that had once been white had now been changed to being faded or a charcoal black.

' _Tenth floor is just a bunch of offices and a smaller testing lab. I guess this was a conference room but how did the fire start?'_ Damian asked himself looking around at the medium sized room. Most of the room was in the same condition as the floor below; broken pieces of wood and metal from the chairs and soot piles everywhere. One pile, in particular, had something shiny lying in it that caught Robin's eye. He went over and pulled out a ninja star that he recognized immediately after wiping some of the soot off it.

 **Flashback:**

 _"Heads up," Batman said reaching into the bat-mobile and threw a ninja throwing star at Damian who caught it with one hand without flinching._

 _"That was awesome!" a six-year-old Dick Grayson had said._

 _"Good reflexes," Batman admitted._

 _"What if I had missed?" Damian asked as he examined the star. It was a complete circle except for sharp points on the top, bottom, and both sides as well as an opening in the very middle._

 _"It would have hurt," Batman said walking over to him._

 _"It's a League of Assassins star," Damian announced._

 **End Flashback**

Robin clenched his left fist as more fury took over his entire body. "Father!" he called. Moments later, Batman grappled up to his level. "Look familiar?" he asked and handed the star to Batman.

"An Assassins star. Luke may have been right after all," Batman said. Before Robin could say anything, a 'beep' was heard from Batman's cowl.

 _"Bruce Thomas Wayne! What the bloody 'ell do you think you're doing?!" a very angry butler shouted._

"You're not talking me out of this Alfred," Batman responded rolling his eyes underneath his cowl.

 _"You're not in any condition to be doing any kind of hero work Bruce! I'm worried about Master Dick just as much as you are, but killing yourself from exhaustion will not help him. Let the police…" Alfred said._

"It's been three days and they're ready to give up! I won't ever give up on him," Batman promised. Afterward, he was expecting Alfred to immediately reply, but he didn't. He just heard him breathing on the other side.

"I know you won't sir. I told you while you were…asleep that I won't give up hope as long as you don't," Alfred finally said. "I also know that I won't be able to stop you, but just promise me you'll be careful."

"I'll be fine. Robin's here with me," Batman admitted.

"Master Robin? Very well, sir, I'll be here if you need me for anything," the butler said.

"Just like always old friend. I swear to you I'll bring our boy home," Batman said.

"I have no doubt that you will. Just…be prepared for anything," Alfred warned and Batman began him investigation once more.

"I assume when you say 'Luke', you're referring to Luke Fox?" Robin asked and Batman nodded. "He was in the fire with Grayson. What exactly was he right about?"

"There's one thing that the police have yet to consider; Dick may have been kidnapped when the fire started. Luke said he noticed some ninjas with Ra's assassin insignia," Batman said as he turned on 'detective vision' once again.

"The assassins? What would Mother want with Grayson?" he asked looking at the assassins star Batman still held.

"I don't know," Batman said and froze when he spotted something yellow on the ground. Upon further inspection, Batman examined a burnt up piece of a yellow sticky note with a few matches and a cigarette butt nearby.

"What the hell is that?" Robin asked.

"A way to start a fire but leave enough time for the arsonist to escape," Batman explained. The cigarette burns until it reaches the matches which makes the spark bigger."

"And the sticky note is made of paper which feeds the fire," Robin finished.

"Exactly," Batman said.

"So that's what started the fire but what does this have to do with Grayson?" Robin asked.

"The assassins might be involved, but either way, the fire started on purpose," Batman concluded.

 **Well, we got the dynamic duo back together but not on the best of terms. Will Dickie be found? What's this 'trauma' that the summary is talking about? Keep tuning in on Batman: Bad Blood.**

 **Until then my fellow readers,**

 **LaurenHardy13**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Batman or anything D.C related.**

After a successful surgery, Luke Fox sat by his father's bedside holding his father's left hand.

"Dammit, Dad! Why do you always have to play the hero huh?" Luke asked his father but the only reply he heard was dead silence. Before he could stop himself he squeezed his right hand into a fist and slammed it down on the bed

"UGH! Why didn't I listen to you when you told me to get Dick out? I hesitated and now he's been kidnapped. I don't care if the police keep telling me Dick died in the fire. I know what I saw," Luke insisted. He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath before squeezing his father's hand with both of his own hands now.

"I swear to you that I'm gonna make things right. I promise," he said and went over to one of the nearby chairs where his father's clothes were neatly folded. After giving a quick glance at the door, he quickly grabbed his father's brown jacket and took out his Wayne Tech key card safely tucked in one of the pockets. Luke put the keycard in his own back pocket before setting the coat back down on the chair. Before leaving, he gave his father one last final glance before Luke left the room looking out for doctors and nurses. After almost getting caught twice, he made his way out of the hospital and started walking towards Wayne Enterprises.

An hour and a half later, Luke made it to the Wayne Tech building huffing and puffing when he got to the door.

"C-come on Luke. This is for Dickie," he huffed. After he was satisfied with his breathing, he used his dad's key card to enter the building and took the stairs up to the ninth floor. Once he got there, he maneuvered his way into the destroyed test room with police tape and evidence markers everywhere. All of a sudden, a figure dressed in black jump down from the giant hole in the ceiling to the ground right in front of him.

"You shouldn't be here Luke," the figure said.

"Should have figured _you_ would be here Batman," Luke said as Robin jumped down from the hole as well, landing right next to Batman.

"You need to go back to the hospital Mr. Fox. Last I checked, you weren't authorized to leave for another few days," Batman said crossing his arms.

"No, I have to find out what happened to Richard Grayson. It's the least I can do for Bruce Wayne and my father after what happened. I know everyone thinks I was delusional, but I know what I saw; ninjas dress in black with some kind of dog and a capital R in between its ears," Luke explained.

"I understand you want to redeem yourself Luke, but your father needs you now more than Richard does. Let Robin and I focus on finding him," Batman insisted.

"I served as a soldier in Afghanistan for a year and a half Batman. I'm not someone who just sits around waiting for others to fight my battles _for_ me," Luke said.

"What you need to focus on right now is getting better. What will happen when your father wakes up and finds out that you're putting yourself in danger while still unwell?" Batman asked and Luke just turned his glance downwards. "I'm sure he and Bruce Wayne wouldn't want you to risk your life like this," Batman said. Suddenly, Batman started violently coughing again being unable to stop or control it. Luke looked back at him in shock.

"Wait a minute. That cough…Mr. Wayne?" Luke asked. Batman didn't move or look away from Luke not phased at the young man's accusation.

"No one will recognize you huh?" Robin taunted and Batman shot a glare his way.

"So… _you're_ Batman? It all makes sense now. I knew there was a connection between Wayne Enterprises and Batman. All the tech and gear I've seen Wayne Tech produce over the years is nothing but the best in the world; kind of a requirement for a crime-fighting vigilante trying to keep a secret identity. And that's why dad spends so much time here and not just because he's CEO. He's supplying you with everything and continues to make updates and improvements," Luke concluded.

"You need to leave Luke. Robin and I have work to do," Batman said turning around and started to walk towards a pile of debris ignoring Luke.

"No, I'm not walking away until-"

"End. Of. Discussion." Batman warned and continued looking around the crime scene. Luke just crossed his arms and pinched the area between his eyebrows while exhaling loudly.

"Well too bad Mr. Wayne. I'm already involved because I saw exactly what happened and where to look for clues," Luke said.

"We can handle it ourselves without some amateur," Robin said. Luke just walked forward disregarding him.

"Do you have a map or something that can show what this room looked like before?" Luke asked. Batman gave a hard glare at Luke but the former soldier stood his ground. He then reached into his utility belt and pulled out a small, round object and placed it in the middle of the room. Batman then pressed a few buttons on his wrist and the entire room was suddenly engulfed with a blue hologram that showed walls, windows, tables, and anything else that was in the room without too much detail but still allowed the rubble and broken glass.

"You're actually letting him join just like that?" Robin asked bitterly.

"For the time being. If the assassins really have Dick, then we can't waste time looking around aimlessly," Batman said and turned on his detective vision in his cowl as Luke shared exactly where they were as the fire started.

"…after that, they threw some kind of smoke on the ground and I passed out," Luke explained as a blue hologram of a body lay on the floor where Luke had been.

"A powerful sedative; usually used to make a retreat without being followed. Normally they would have just killed you on the spot, but I suppose they figured that the flames would kill you anyway. No use wasting it," Robin explained as he pulled out a small screen from his belt and started typing in a few things.

"How exactly do you know so much about them?" Luke asked.

"That's not your concern Fox," Robin snapped still typing away. Then his computer made a small 'beep' and began scrolling down what he had up. "Fire report mentions that 'fire crew and GC Arson squad were unable to pinpoint what exactly started the fire as there were too many possibilities as to what was the main source.'"

"Too many possibilities? Was there something else?" Batman asked.

"This fire report isn't very descriptive," Robin reported. Then Batman pressed a button on his earpiece.

"Alfred, call Chief Boggs. Tell him I want to hear in his own words what they found as far as what caused the fire and where. If he asks why tell him that I want to prevent anything like this from happening again and keep all of my staff safe."

" _I'll call him at once sir,"_ Alfred replied.

"Alfred's in this too? Guess there's no hiding that from Wayne Manor's caretaker. So those ninjas started the fire but what do they want with Dick?" Luke asked.

"That's a question we're not going to answer here. There's nothing more to investigate Luke. I want you to go back to the hospital now!" Batman ordered.

"Fine, but I want in on helping to find him," he said.

"We have it under control. An ambulance will be here to pick you up shortly and take you back. Let's go, Robin," Batman said and started to walk out of the destroyed room leaving Luke behind.

 **Break*Break*Break**

Batman drove back to the cave with Robin in the passenger seat with his arms crossed looking out the window. "Just so we're clear, I'm still pissed that you didn't tell me," Robin growled.

"I'm dropping you off back in the cave," Batman said.

"What?! Why?" Robin asked jerking his head back to face his father.

"I can handle looking for your brother alone," Batman said.

"I'm not the one who's obviously too sick to look for his adopted son without blowing your secret away to the first person we come in contact with," Robin snapped as Batman let out two short coughs. Then a ringing sound was heard and Batman pressed the green answer button causing Alfred to appear on the screen.

"Sir, I have the results from the fire chief," he said pulling out a piece of paper.

"What did they find?" Batman asked.

"It is rather puzzling to _me_ sir, but the chief said that the fire could have originated from a number of different points. They found a lamp that had been plugged in for a long period of time that could have caused a spark, and there was also some faulty wiring in the light socket the lamp was plugged into. Not only that sir, but the fire alarm and sprinkler system on that floor seem to have malfunctioned sometime before the fire," the butler explained.

"I've talked to Luke and a few of my employees who were hurt during the fire. They all remembered hearing a loud explosion and I heard in all the way from my office too," Batman explained.

"The police also found a few Wayne Tech gadget pieces on the tenth and ninth floor where Master Dick, Lucius, and Master Luke were when the fire started. GCPD thinks that one of those gadgets could have caused the explosion, but most were destroyed in the fire and are now unrecognizable," Alfred continued.

"That's too many coincidences to take place just on that floor. I'm fairly convinced that the assassins had been planning this for weeks now," Batman concluded.

"Those assassins should be severely punished for leaving behind any trace of them behind, but that doesn't explain what Mother wants with Grayson," Robin said.

"You're right; it's almost too easy considering she knows I'm Batman and from our recent little….chat," Batman said.

"Mother was here recently? That's another thing you 'oh so graciously' forgot to tell me," Robin said rolling his eyes at Batman's glare.

"Do you think she kidnapped Master Dick as a bargaining chip to get you to join the assassins?" Alfred asked. "After all, they left enough evidence for the police and fire department to rule it as an unsolvable case, but also so you would know who exactly has the young master."

"Possibly, but I think it's something a little bigger than that. She has something else in mind and I'm going to find out what it is," Batman vowed.

 **I guess I'll stop here. Not my favorite chapter but it'll do for now. I'm really looking forward to the next few chapters though as they'll start to set up what the summary is talking about with Dick knowing nothing but trauma in his life.**

 **Let me know how you like it or why you hate it.**

 **Thanks,**

 **LaurenHardy13**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Batman**

 _A week._

That's how long his youngest had been missing and declared dead. He had gotten cards from some of his staff and text messages from the Justice League giving their sympathy. Some had even stopped by to check on them, but the billionaire just shooed them away. He and Robin had spent every night after a quick patrol of the city trying to find any leads or clues about the whereabouts of the assassins or the missing boy; all of them lead to dead ends.

Wayne Enterprises had officially re-opened with the ninth and tenth floor currently blocked off for construction; even if the CEO and owner of the company still hadn't stepped foot in the building yet. Right now, Batman and Robin were in the Bat-mobile checking up on a few leads.

"Any word on Dick?" Luke Fox said over the speakers.

"Not yet," Bruce said talking as himself instead of Batman. "How are things with you?"

"Not coughing as much as I was and I finally got released from the hospital a few days ago. Tiff is hanging in there and Ma practically lives at the hospital now. I tried to talk her into coming home just for a little bit but you know how stubborn she is," Luke said.

"Stubborn and strong just like the one she married," Bruce said and Luke gave a chuckle.

"Yeah I guess that's true. Listen, Bruce, I'm fine now and if you happen to need an extra hand…"

"We've got it covered for right now Luke, but I'll let you know when we find him. I'll stay in touch," he said and hung up. Robin meanwhile was sitting in the passenger seat with his arms crossed and a little scowl.

"So are you finally going to tell me about what Mother was doing at the house?" Robin asked as they continued driving around the city.

"I told you, it doesn't matter," Batman said.

"That's strange, I thought we already established that Mother has Grayson captive right now? So how exactly does she being here the day before the fire not mean anything?" he said and Batman remained silent. "Fine! If you won't tell me, then the least you can do is tell me what she told him?"

"She didn't tell him anything," Batman responded.

"Still lying to me? Huh. I guess I _was_ right; you'll never trust me," Robin snapped. All of a sudden, a beep was heard and Alfred's picture popped up on the screen as well as a diagram of the manor with a black dot located on the second floor.

"Something's going on at the house," Batman said and did an immediate U-turn and headed back for the Manor. Robin then took a closer look at the manor diagram.

"It's coming from Grayson's room," he said.

 **Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break**

When they got back to the cave, Batman immediately jumped out of the car and ran to the main floor ignoring Alfred's 'no capes upstairs' rule. He and Robin came out of the clock and dashed to Dick's room kicking open the door and turning on the lights.

There Alfred lay on the floor unconscious with an assassin raising a sword about to kill the man. Other ninjas were scattered around the room each with a bag of stolen objects from the boy's room. Quickly, Batman pulled out an electric Batarang and threw it at her shooting her full of electricity. The kunoichi gasped and arched back in pain giving Batman enough time to run over and kick her away from the unconscious man.

"They are here!" someone said.

"You bet we are!" Robin said and kicked one of the assassins off balance even though they got right back up.

"Perfect," a deep voice said. Robin gave the voice beside him a quick glance but kept his attention on the assassin in front of him. This man was a little taller than Batman with metal armor coving his chest and part of his shoulders. His muscular arms, fingers, and neck were the only parts of his body that were unguarded.

"Where's my brother?" Robin asked.

"Brother? Oh, you mean the _other_ boy," the deep voice said. Robin just jumped at the assassin in front of him and started dodging every attack until he found an opening to kick the assassin's head. Then he turned his attention back to the large man. Meanwhile, Batman was taking down most of the ninjas near Alfred one by one.

"Now tell me where he is or I'll cut your head off! Do you hear me?!" Robin demanded.

"Big threats for someone so small," he said.

Suddenly a sharp pain ran up Damian's spine as an assassin had stabbed him in the back while he was distracted. Before he could move, the ninja behind him twisted the long knife.

"AHHHHH!" Robin screamed falling to his knees. "You'll regret that!" he continued and elbowed his attacker but missed. This caused the ninja to pull out a twin set of katanas and held them against Robin's neck with both just touching his skin.

"ENOUGH!" he said and the ninja immediately took his swords away from the boy's neck and pulled the knife out of Robin who grunted. Meanwhile, Batman, who had heard Robin scream, was tossed the ninjas he was working on aside and started running over to his eldest. Before Batman could reach them, the man threw some smoke pellets on the ground and the entire room filled up with smoke. Batman's detective vision immediately switched on, but all he focused on was finding Robin.

When the smoke in the room finally cleared, Batman was on his knees checking on Damian's wounds.

"Cowards!" Robin shouted and then turned his attention back to his father. "Get back out there!" he continued while trying to stand back up, but Batman held him down.

"You were stabbed," Batman said.

"Gee, you think?" Robin asked as Batman took off Robin's cape to get a better look at the wound.

"We need to get this patched up. I'm gonna run to the cave to get some bandages and disinfectant. Don't move," Batman ordered and ran out of the room. Meanwhile, Robin continued to try and stand up or move.

"C-come on!" Robin coached himself.

He managed to get one foot up when Batman came back and glared at him while walking over with some disinfectant, a roll of bandages, and one of Damian's grey tank tops and black pants. Robin let out a long sigh before sliding back down to his knees.

"M-Master Bruce," a weak voice said stirring. Batman put the items down near Robin before going over to Alfred.

"Take it easy Alfred," Bruce said putting his hands under Alfred's shoulders to help him up.

"Now don't fuss over me, sir. I'm alright," he said and slowly sat up on his own. Alfred's attention then turned to the semi-messy room with books and other various materials scattered with Robin still sitting on his knees with blood staining the floor and uniform. "Oh dear!"

"It's fine! Nothing to worry about," Robin snapped.

"I wasn't aware that you received a medical degree while in the Himalayas Master Damian while also being able self-diagnosing yourself for a wound you can't quite see due to your suit," Alfred commented.

"I've been hurt worse sparring with my Grandfather," Robin commented.

"No matter if you've been hurt worse by Ra Al Ghul or not, that wound must be looked at immediately," Alfred said standing up and kneeling behind Damian pulling the medical supplies closer to him.

"Alfred you really don't need to do that. You were knocked unconscious and…"

"And _you_ sir will want to investigate this area for clues immediately that may possibly lead us to Master Dick's location I'm guessing. We are running short on time as it is already Master Bruce," Alfred said. Batman looked at Alfred for only a moment before nodding his head.

"Alright. But if you start to feel dizzy or anything…"

"You'll be the first person to know. Now Master Damian, if you would be so kind as to assist in taking off your top," Alfred said and he and Damian slowly got the cape, mask and Robin vest off.

"What exactly happened here?" Batman asked.

"Well…I had just completed my working duties on the main floor and continued on to the second floor. I…..I decided I wanted to start in Master Dick's room," Alfred said examining the wound carefully. Then he looked up right into Batman's eyes. "Forgive me sir, but I wanted to make sure that Master Dick's room would be ready when he returns."

"I understand. Then what happened?" Batman asked.

"I walked into the room and came across some intruders taking various things belonging to the young master and putting them in bags of some sort," Alfred explained.

"What did they take?" Damian asked as Batman started inspecting the room.

"I'm afraid I couldn't entirely see exactly what they took Master Damian," Alfred said spraying a disinfectant on the wound that only caused Damian to abruptly squeeze his eyes closed only for a fraction of a second. "They saw me and that's when I alerted you sir, however before I could make out whom exactly the intruders were I must have been knocked unconscious. I only wish I could have seen exactly who the intruders were."

"It was the assassins; Mother's personal guard to be exact," Damian said when Alfred began wrapping the gauze around Damian's chest and back.

"My word! But why would they come here if they already have the young Master?" Alfred asked.

"I don't know, but we know they must have been looking for something in here," Batman said turning back to them. "There's a few photo's missing in here; Dick's last family picture with his parents on the nightstand, and a photo taken of you two during the brotherhood ceremony feast on the mantle."

"Why on earth would the League of Assassins take those?" Alfred asked.

"The only thing I can think of is they wanted information on Dick more then what they already have. But we still don't have a solid motive of why exactly they took him," Batman said and Alfred at last finished wrapping up Damian's wound. Damian quickly put on his grey tank top and joined his father in the search of the room. His first stop was under the bed where he found…

…..absolutely nothing under there.

Alfred had been very clear that shoving everything under the California King Bed was not considered cleaning one's room. Only one item was the exception

"That box he had under the bed with all his old circus stuff is missing too," Robin said and Batman came over to look as well.

"That box was filled with stuff practically worthless to everyone except Dick; more evidence that the Assassins had been planning this for months," Batman said.

"More questions that need answering," Alfred said and the three continued to look for anything else.

"Not much to go on," Batman said out loud.

"Great, so we're back to knowing nothing," Damian said.

"Looks that way. You're done for the rest of the night. I have to finish patrol and then I'll be back," Batman said to Damian.

"Wait, what?! No way!" he complained.

"At least twenty-four hours of observation in case something goes wrong! If you want to keep looking for Dick, then keep checking the tracker on him or find us a new location to investigate. Call me if you find out something," Batman ordered and began to walk out of the room.

"So basically do nothing," Damian snapped.

"Take it slow for the rest of the night Alfred. That's an order. You can even turn in if you want," Batman said turning his attention back to the elderly man.

"Wouldn't dream of it sir until you return," Alfred said. Then Batman left Dick's room without another word.

 **Break*Break*Break*Break*Break**

After taking a quick shower and eating an apple, Damian got on the Batcomputer and started scanning through the files his Father had on the Assassins including bases, locations of anywhere with Lazarus pits, and the files on Dick's disappearance. Then just for fun, he typed in a few codes and a box came up that said

' **RG40 tracker offline'.**

"Damn," he mumbled.

' _I put that tracker on your school uniform for a reason kid and you can't even be bothered to keep it on?' he thought to himself while rolling his eyes._

All of a sudden, the screen glitched a little and now said

' **RG40 tracker online.'**

Damian's eyes went wide and typed in some more codes to zone in on the tracker quickly before it disappeared.

 _Coordinates locked_

The screen then showed and then zoomed in on the area the tracker was currently located; a church on a cliff located just outside the city limits.

"Gotcha kid," he said smiling and quickly ran over to quickly change into one of his spare uniforms without a hole in the back. Then he walked over to the little area where his 'Robin-Cycle' was parked as Dick had so graciously named for him; even if it was purple and not red as Dick wanted. Then he was off.

 **Meanwhile at Wayne Tech**

In a secret lab that could only be accessed with a special badge only owned by the owner and CEO, Luke Fox walked inside and inspected all the various gadgets and parts laid out on the table. There was another door to the left of the first one that led to a room with a platform with a black metal bat suit that glowed neon baby blue and had a compartment for wings behind it.

"Sorry Mr. Wayne, but I'm gonna need to borrow this," he said.

 **Well? What do you think? I'll admit this took FOREVER but I'm fine with it for right now. And just because you guys have been so patient with me,**

 **Spoiler alert: Dickie** _ **will**_ __ **be in the next chapter because we all knew he wasn't dead right? Right?!**

 **Anyway, I will see you next time.**

 **Don't forget to tell me how much you like or hate it.**

 **LaurenHardy13**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the delay but a lot has been going on lately but I'm now back in it.**

 **Enjoy!**

Robin exceeding the speed-limit just reached the outskirts of the city limits and was nearing the church where Dick was being kept. When he came close to the church, he ditched the bike and started heading on foot. That's when his communicator started beeping. Quickly, he took it out of his ear and placed it on the seat of his bike.

' _You better be alive in there kid or I swear I'll bring you back just to kill you again,'_ he thought to himself and quietly made his way under the bridge gates to avoid being seen. There were only a few nuns and assassins patrolling the wall, but not enough to catch anyone trying to sneak in.

' _Mother should have their heads for how awful this patrol is,'_ Robin thought and waited for the right moment. As soon as two nuns had their backs turned, he grappled over the wall and stuck to the shadows to avoid being seen. He sees a big building that was longer than the others in the abbey all the way in the back. _'That's gotta be where you are,' he thought._ All of a sudden, someone snuck up behind him, grabbed him, and shoved a rag over his face. Robin struggled but was in a deathlock by someone before he lost his vision and passed out.

 **Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break**

The next thing Damian knew, he opened his eyes and the first thing he saw his brother upside-down, hooked up to something with pads and wires over his head unconscious.

"Grayson," he mumbled. Then feeling started to return to Damian. His mask was no longer on his face and _he_ was the one who was upside-down wearing a straight jacket. That's also when he noticed the wires attached to Dick were connected to a computer of some sort being controlled by someone wearing a green suit and top hat.

"What the hell are you doing to him?!" Damian demanded.

"Oh good, you're up. Now we can begin making the proper adjustments as soon as I finish with this one; though I doubt we'll have enough time before the Bat gets here," Mad Hatter said.

"Adjustments?! What does _that_ mean?!" he asked.

"Absolutely nothing," another voice said after the door slammed open. Damian instantly recognized him to be the same tall deep voice that had been in Dick's room earlier.

"Who _are_ you?" Damian asked.

"Don't worry; you'll know who I am soon enough. For now you can call me, Heretic," the man with the mask said. Then he walked in after slamming the door behind him and going over to a small bag near Mad Hatter. "Have you finished yet?" Heretic demanded to look at the stolen items in the bag.

"Patients my friend. The boy's mind is young and you can't rush this; unless you want him to become a vegetable so soon," Mad Hatter said.

"Quiet!" he hissed taking out a framed photograph. He took one look at it and then slammed it on the ground in front of Damian. Damian looked at the shattered frame of him and Dick dressed in their ceremonial robes.

"Was that a threat?" Damian asked.

"Far from it, _brother_ ," Heretic said. Damian was about to respond when the door slammed open again. This time, a tall woman stood there with red hair and a black jumpsuit.

"Mother," Damian growled.

"Are you insane?! How dare you bring him here!" Talia Al Ghul yelled walking in with her personal guard Onyx.

"It wasn't me," Tech said.

"What else was I suppose to do? I caught him sneaking around the abbey," Heretic responded.

"Of all the rooms to bring him to, you brought him here?!" she said and then turned her attention to her son. "And you. I should have known you would arrive here before your father. Yet I still had hoped that you wouldn't," Then she looked down at the broken frame. "You did a brotherhood ceremony with _him_?! That is a sacred ceremony only for those worthy enough!"

"Grayson's more worthy then you'll ever know! Take this straight jacket off and I'll show you the mark," Damian said.

"Shut up!" Heretic shouted and Talia held him back.

"How can you declare your father's adopted child your brother when he stole away the full attention your father should be giving to _you_?" Talia continued and Damian opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Enough of this. I now see that you are nothing more than a traitor; a shame to the house of Al Ghul!" Talia declared and then turned back to the others. "If Damian's here, then his father can't be too far behind. We retreat, for now," Talia said.

"And the boy?" Tech said motioning towards Dick.

"Leave him," Talia said closing the computer screen and pushing it down until it transformed into a suitcase. "Come," she ordered and then ran out the door with her entourage following close behind. Heretic took one last glance at Damian who was glaring at him before closing the door.

 **Meanwhile**

"Dammit!" Batman cursed standing on one of the tops of Gotham's many skyscrapers. Still, Damian had not answered his tracker.

"Sir, if it's any help, I took the liberty of placing a tracker on Master Damian's uniform after he returned. Would you like his current location?" Alfred asked from his communicator.

"Yes Alfred, I would," Batman answered harsher then he meant.

"Very well," the butler said and started typing away some codes on the computer. A few moments later, a screen popped up giving the coordinates of the tracker. Then, another screen popped up right next to it.

 **Tracker RG40: Online**

"Sir, I've just sent you the coordinates but…something else has come up," Alfred said.

"What is it, Alfred?" Batman asked.

"It appears before Master Damian left, he was on the bat-computer and was looking at a tracker called RG40."

"RG40 isn't one of our trackers," Batman said.

"True, but you cannot ignore the fact that RG just so happens to be Master's Dick's initials. Perhaps Master Damian placed a tracker on the young master before he left for the Himalayas without notifying us."

"It's possible. Send me the coordinates as well. I'll check it out."

"You already have them, sir. Both trackers currently have the same location," the butler said.

"Alright, I'm headed there now," Batman said.

"Be careful sir," Alfred said and then Batman pressed a button on his utility belt. Then he jumped off the building and glided to the ground right into the driver's seat of the batmobile just as it pulled up. Then, he typed in the coordinates and was on his way.

 **Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break**

Just before Batman reached the front gates, a few assassins stood on the little platform above the gates and started shooting at the car. Batman just glared at them and then pressed some buttons on the steering wheel that released some rockets towards the abbey. A few heavily damaged the main gate, but most had gone and destroyed the main watchtowers. Batman drove in and immediately jumped out as both nuns holding katanas and guns and some assassin members all rushed up to him. Bats immediately threw a smoke bomb on the ground and also threw some Batarang at the nuns on the roof with the guns first. By the time the smoke cleared, the assassins all charged at him, but Batman just flipped out of the way taking a few out who happened to be where he landed. Some gunfire kept firing until something in the sky shot them down with a neon-blue Batarang knocking them off the roof. Batman looked up and saw someone dressed in one of the prototype bat-suits that Lucius had been working on. When the bat landed, Batman glared at him hard.

"I told you, I wasn't gonna give up on finding him. Oh, and call me Batwing," Luke said firing a few more neon Batarang at assassins behind Batman. Batman then dodged a few more nunjas with katanas taking them down. "Where would he be at?!" Batwing shouted as he used his martial arts training he took in high school to take down some assassins. Batman kept dodging and taking his attackers down until he pointed to a large door that seemed like it led to the main chapel.

"Blow those doors!" Batman ordered. Batwing took down his last attacker and activated some rockets from his suit.

"Dad won't like this," he said and the rockets launched at the door destroying it open. "Find Dickie and get him out! I'll hold the rest off as long as I can!" Batwing continued activating his wings.

"No! Get out of here Luke!" Batman growled.

"You don't have a choice! Someone has to hold them off!" Batwing screamed and then went up to the watchtower where a few nunjas with guns were still firing. Batman hesitated only for a fraction of a second before running into the building that led to steps going underground.

 **Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break**

Damian thanks to his assassin and Robin training, managed to escape the straight jacket and free himself. He then went up to the control panel and moved a handle down which released Dick's shackles causing him to fall to the ground hard, but he didn't get back up. Damian ran over to him helping him to a seated position. Dick's face was as pale as a white sheet with dilated eyes. He just stared down at the floor in some kind of daze breathing at a snail's pace from his mouth. "Grayson? Come on let's go," Damian said but Dick didn't move or make any kind of recognition that Damian was even there.

"Hey! Snap out of it kid! Come on!" Damian continued this time snapping his fingers in Dick's face but he just blinked still without recognition.

"Look at me!" Damian shouted grabbing Dick's chin and yanking it up so he was looking at him; but as soon as Damian let go, his face rolled back down again. Damian growled and slapped his brother's face without thinking. At last, Dick looked up at him by himself but his eyes began to get glassy. "We need to go now!" Damian said getting beside him helping him stand up but Dick's legs were shaking. That's when Dick's head slowly moved and was now fully looking at Damian again.

"… _ **You're just some lost little gypsy orphan he took pity on…."**_

"… _ **..I HATE YOU!" he said slapping his face so hard, he fell to the floor.**_

All of a sudden, Dick's eyes went wide as he tried to push Damian away from him while he screamed.

"Shhhhh! Shut up or you'll get us caught!" Damian whispered loudly. Dick however, continued to push and pull away until Damian released him, causing the boy to fall to the ground. Dick then crawled backward away from him as more tears rolled down his face.

"Grayson it's me; it's your brother," Damian said as soft as he could while showing the boy the fading scar on his wrist, but Dick still backed away from him. All of a sudden, the door was kicked open and in ran Batman. Batman's eyes grew wide as he saw his two sons.

"Dick," Bruce mumbled and raced over to them. He ran over and kneeled in front of his boys.

"He's not responding to me," Damian told his father as Batman cupped Dick's face.

"Dickie?" Batman said gently stroking Dick's cheek but his blank expression had once again returned.

"We've gotta get him home. Put the rest of your uniform on and be prepared to fight," Batman ordered. Damian gave one last look at Dick before grabbing his cape and mask that was discarded in the corner. Meanwhile, Batman pressed a button on his intercom.

"Alfred, call Leslie. Tell her to meet us at the cave. We found him," Batman ordered as he picked up his youngest son bridal style, who was trembling in his arms.

"Thank God," the elderly butler said letting out a loud sigh. "How is he, sir?"

"Not good. He's conscious, but he's not responding to anything we do. He looks so dazed and…lost," he commented as the boy's body was still shaking.

"I'll phone her immediately. Just bring him home sir," Alfred pleaded.

"We will," Bruce promised and that's when Damian came over now dressed as Robin. After giving his eldest a slight nod, the two ran out of the room.

When they returned to the abbey, they were surprised to find it was now completely empty; not even the assassins and nunjas remained.

"Did you find him?" a voice called out. Batwing was flying in the sky and then landed in front of them.

"Where did _you_ come from?" Robin asked.

"Could ask you the same thing kid. Now please tell me you found him," Batwing begged.

"Hold on, where did the assassins go?" Batman asked.

"You're probably gonna think I'm crazy, but they all just vanished. I went up to the watchtower for one second to take down one of those crazy nunjas, and when I turn back around, everyone's gone; even the ones that were unconscious," he explained and Batman's eyes narrowed.

"I don't like this," Batman said and then shifted his arms to allow Luke to see the young boy in his arms hidden by his cape.

"Dickie! I knew you were alive kid! I…" Luke said but stopped when he saw Dick shaking and taking in quick gasps of air. He looked so much smaller than nine-years-old in the caped crusader's arms. "Dick?"

"He's just delirious. I'm taking him back to Gotham," he said and took the boy over to the car as the top opened up.

"I'll go with you," Batwing said and then Batman turned to face him.

"Yes. You're going back to the hospital where you should be with your father. You've done what you wanted to do and now it's over," he said.

"Can I at least go to the hospital to make sure he's alright?" Batwing asked.

"I'll call Tanya later when I get an update. Let's go, Robin," he said as he placed Dick in the backseat and put his seatbelt on.

"Hang on," Robin said and ran back into the underground passageway. A minute later, he returned with a box and bag that had been stolen from his brother. Robin jumped in the passenger's side as did Batman with the driver's, and drove off leaving Luke alone.

 **Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break**

 **Back in the Batcave**

"Well, the good news is that there doesn't seem to be anything physically wrong with him, save for a few bumps and bruises," Leslie said putting her stethoscope back around her neck after listening to Dick's heartbeat. Dick was now sitting on one of the medical beds in the cave surrounded by his family. His hands were clasped together with his eyes looking down at the floor not moving in the slightest.

"And the bad news?" Bruce asked. Leslie looked up at him very seriously.

"I think we should talk about that elsewhere," she said looking over towards Dick and Damian.

"What's the big secret? He looks fine," Damian said.

"Physically perhaps but…we don't know the extent of what he was put through," Leslie said.

"You probably don't want to know what Mother does to prisoners," Damian said.

"Nor do I have any interest in finding out thank you very much, but we may not have a choice. Bruce?" she said motioning towards the stairs. Bruce went over and put a hand on Dick's shoulder and whispered something to him. Dick still didn't move or even nod at Bruce's words. Bruce then took his hand off the boy's shoulder before walking with Leslie towards the stairs.

"Look! I'm done with all this bullcrap! Talk! Look at me! DO SOMETHING!" Damian shouted grabbing Dick's shoulder and he flinched.

"… _ **..I deserve to have all of father's love!..." he said grabbing Dick's shirt where his shoulders were.**_

"… _ **..I'm his**_ **real** _ **son….."**_

"… _ **..You deserve everything I'm gonna do to you..."**_

That's when Dick squeezed his eyes shut tight, held up his hands in front of his face, and screamed.

"NO!" he shrieked.

Damian jerked his hand back and just stared at his brother in shock as the young boy whimpered. Afterward, he looked cautiously at his father confused; Damian slowly stepped further away from the bed. Alfred, Bruce, and Leslie all looked at Dick in shock.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Dick shouted.

"Dick, calm down; relax," Bruce said but Dick just covered his ears and rocked back and forth.

"No more, no more," Dick whimpered.

"Hey hey hey, it's alright, we've got you," Bruce said coming over and cupped Dick's cheek while rubbing small circles with his thumb. Dick just continued to whimper as Bruce looked at his son with regret. "Just relax. It's safe now," he continued now pushing Dick down to lie on the bed. Dick's breathing was still shaky as he opened his eyes to look at Bruce. "Atta boy. Breathe. Just breathe."

Slowly, Dick managed to slow down his breathing and close his eyes again. Bruce kept stroking his cheek full of tears and tilted his forehead down to touch his sleeping child's own forehead. Damian meanwhile who was squeezing his fists together watching the scene stormed upstairs out of the cave. Alfred and Leslie watched him run up the steps. Leslie then pinched the top of her nose while tilting her head down while Alfred just watched his remaining charges.

After a few minutes, soft snores were heard from the boy and Bruce lifted his forehead and kissed the exact spot it had rested on.

"Bruce?" Leslie said looking at him and motioning the stairs.

"I'll watch him, sir," Alfred said. Bruce nodded and then left to the study with Leslie as Alfred got a blanket to tuck in the boy.

 **Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break**

"Bruce, you're not going to like this…" Leslie said now in the study.

"Say it already!" Bruce snapped.

"I'm not a psychologist, but based on his symptoms and from what you told me, I think Dick may have developed PTSD," Leslie said.

"He's been kidnapped before Leslie. I don't think…"

"No Bruce. This is different. You told me he seemed scared of you and Damian when you first rescued him right?" She asked.

"He was just confused. He wasn't fully aware that it was us rescuing him," Bruce said.

"How do you know that? What if he was fully aware that you were there, but was trying to avoid you in order to protect himself?"

"How dare you! Why would he be scared of me?! I'm his father!" Bruce screamed.

"Because, whatever Talia did to him, caused him to become distant from all of you! You saw with your own eyes what happened down there, Bruce. Easily startled, detached from family and friends, both are common symptoms of PTSD. Now normally it's not diagnosed this early, but since we don't know what he went through, I'm willing to overlook it," Leslie said calm but with a slight increase in her tone. "I recommend that you take him to see a psychologist for evaluation or a councilor to…"

"Why?! So a total stranger can just tell him that he has a problem?! There's nothing wrong with him!" Bruce insisted.

"I never said there was. A psychologist isn't supposed to tell you that there's a problem; they're there to help you fix it. But you're the one who has to make that first step into his recovery. I can't force you to do anything Bruce, but if you love this boy like I think you do, then you need to do everything in your power to help him heal and move on. Better to get help now before it develops into something _worse_ ," Leslie emphasized glaring at him.

"No! I swore on my life that I wouldn't let him turn out like me. He'll be fine in a few days; you'll see," Bruce promised.

"Think what you will, but I want you to keep an eye on him just to be safe over the next week or so," Leslie suggested. "I'll see myself out. Goodbye Bruce," Leslie said and left the living room without another word.

 **Well, there you go. Also, I want to explain the bold font in the middle of the cave scene. From here on out, anytime you see bold font like this, then that is exactly what Dick is thinking at the time. Think of it as sort of a flashback that's he's thinking due to some sort of trigger. For example, Damian grabbed Dick's shoulder's a little too tight which brought up a few memories for Dick when Damian was** _ **'hurting'**_ **him. If you need any further clarification, just shoot me a message and I'll see if I can explain it a little better.**


End file.
